St Lawrence

"If a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies, it yields a rich harvest."

I believe some of us would have secretly (childishly?) desired a martyr's death, not for the pain of it but for the gain (glory) of it. Reading through some lives of martyrs, you know martyrdom is no child's play. Try reading St Lawrence's life. Deacon Lawrence presented Emperor Valerian with the true gold and silver of the Church, the poor! The emperor was filled with rage! Beheading was not enough for this Christian Deacon. He ordered Deacon Lawrence to be burned alive, in public, on a griddle (frying pan). The deacon cheerfully offered himself to the Lord Jesus and even joked with his executioners: "I'm well done on this side. Turn me over!"

Martyrs show that death is part and parcel of life. Death is not the opposite of life, but the full process of life. Nothing lives long-term without dying in its present form. Even our sun, which is just one minor star in a galaxy of much larger stars, is dying to the tune of 600 million tons of hydrogen per second. It is constantly dying, but also giving life to our solar system and to every single thing that lives on our planet. As Jesus gives the example in today's gospel (John 12:24-26): A grain of wheat has to die in order to yield a rich harvest. As Jesus' own life testifies, death becomes the price of resurrection. Life is not ended, but transformed at death. This is what the martyrs loudly proclaim through their pain and suffering. Nothing is ever lost. It is only transformed.

To conclude St Lawrence's life, the tradition records massive conversions to the Christian faith as a result of the holy life and death of one Deacon who understood the true heart of his vocation. He was poured out, like his Master, Jesus Christ the Servant, in redemptive love, on behalf of others. It is still said to this day that all of Rome became Christian as a result of the faithful life, and the death, of this one humble deacon. Martyrdom, therefore, is witnessing through one's life, not just death. It is witnessing that in life we need to die many times before we finally physically die.

Nothing is ever lost; everything is transformed. God will turn all our human crucifixions into resurrection.